(Yes, this is yet another post unrelated to the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist and the nomination of Judge John Roberts as his successor. Can you really blame Article III Groupie for steering clear of this subject for the time being? In order to blog knowledgeably about it, you need to spend about five hours reading the latest news media and blogosphere coverage. And A3G doesn't have that kind of time right now...)
So it's that time of the year again: judicial clerkship application season! According to the Law Clerk Hiring Plan, applicants were allowed to send out their clerkship applications this past Tuesday, September 6, 2005. Judges can start calling applicants to schedule interviews next Thursday, September 15, 2005, at noon (EDT). Interviews may be held starting on Thursday, September 22, 2005.
Interestingly enough, no time of day is specified for the start of interviewing on September 22. So conceivably a judge could begin meeting with applicants at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday the 22nd. YIKES!
(For those of you who were already UTR readers as of last September, you may recall A3G's proposal for reform of the clerkship application process: "Judges and law clerks should be brought together through reality TV shows." But if you were not yet reading this blog, you might want to check out this post from last year, in which A3G proposed matching up judges and clerks through federal judicial versions of shows like Survivor, The Apprentice, Fear Factor, Boy Meets Boy, and Temptation Island.)
This year, A3G would like to mark the arrival of law clerk hiring season by publishing funny or interesting stories concerning the wacky and wild application process. So if you have any such stories, either from this year or a prior year, please email A3G.
For one example, read Professor Richard Garnett's moving reminiscence of his time with the late Chief Justice Rehnquist (previously praised by A3G in these pages). The Chief Justice greeted Garnett as follows: "[He] came into the waiting room, in casual clothes, shook my hand, and said, 'Hi, I'm Bill Rehnquist.'" How down-to-earth for the Zeus of the Article III pantheon to introduce himself in this manner!
For another example -- of an interesting application tale, as well as a Supreme Court justice introducing himself by simply saying his first and last name -- read A3G's profile of Allison Orr, a current Souter clerk. Just imagine having this message on your answering machine: "Hello. This is David Souter. I am calling about your clerkship interview. Please call me back when you have a free minute."
While we're on the subject of telephone contact with federal judges, A3G will kick off the storytelling with this amusing anecdote about a Guidomaniac, Bob Smith -- not his real name -- who ultimately joined the ranks of the Elect (as almost all Guidomaniacs do):
So, during clerkship application season, Bob is out for a jog. Just as he is finishing, he jogs up to his apartment door to hear the phone ringing inside. He hurriedly fumbles for the keys and gets inside, by this time even more out of breath.
Bob: *pant* Hello? *pant*
Caller: Is this Bob Smith?
Bob: Yes *pant* it is.
Caller: My name is Guido Calabresi.
Bob: *pant* Oh, thank you very much *pant* *pant* for calling me!
Guido: I'm sorry, Bob. I didn't mean to make you nervous. Don't be nervous -- you're going to do just fine!
Bob presumably dies of embarassment at this point. He admittedly WAS a little nervous. After all, who expects Guido to just up and call you? Bob tried to explain that while he was nervous, he was only out of breath because he'd just finished running. But Guido did not seem to believe him!
It isn't surprising to think that Judge Calabresi -- who holds himself in high regard (and deservedly so, given his unquantifiable genius and indisputable brilliance) -- thought that the mere sound of his voice could turn a grown man into a panting schoolgirl. Hee-hee!
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